All About the Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar

By Timmy Klein

The Gibson Les Paul guitar is one of the most iconic instruments in popular music. A number of variations of the base model have been introduced over the years, including the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar. This is one of the pricier and highest quality guitars that Gibson makes. The LesPaul was designed by guitarist LesPaul in collaboration with Gibson in 1952.

The base LesPaul guitar was a response to the Fender Telecaster, which had pioneered the single body electric guitar design that was sweeping the rock, country and blues music scenes. The LesPaul had some differences, such as the strings being attached differently than other guitars. The Les Paul also differentiated itself by coming in many boldly colored designs.

The Les Paul Custom guitar was designed from the start to be a more high quality and stately guitar. It was nicknamed the Black Beauty for its slick black design. LesPaul stated that the design was meant to be reminiscent of a tux. The guitar's surface was made from solid mahogany, instead of maple like the standard model. Starting in 1957, the Custom was outfitted with the humbucker style pickup, giving it its defining bulky and warm sound.

The Custom of today has a sharper tone due to its ebony fretboard. The frets are also somewhat lower than those on your standard guitar, which has led to some calling the Custom the fretless wonder.

Many notable popular musicians have used the Gibson Les Paul custom guitar as their instrument of choice at one point or another. Artists from Carlos Santana to Peter Frampton to Eric Clapton have used Customs.

A brand new Custom today is worth several thousand dollars. They are no longer limited to just being Black Beauties; Customs have since produced with different finished including Antique White and Silverburst.

Did you know the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar is one of many variations of the standard LesPaul? Timmy Klein takes on the ultimate Gibson journey now on http://www.gibsonlespaulcustom.net.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timmy_Klein


http://EzineArticles.com/?All-About-the-Gibson-Les-Paul-Custom-Guitar&id=3942670

All About the Fender Jaguar Guitar

By Rick D. Jones

Originally, the Fender Jaguar Guitar was introduced in 1962. The design was based off the Jazzmaster. The way that it differed had to do with the offset waist and floating tremolo system. In addition, it was given a shorter 24 inch scale in comparison to the jazzmaster as well.

Overall, only small changes were made in comparison to the old Jazzmaster. Mostly, this had to do with small changes to the body, as well as the scale length. The Jaguar came fitted with a 22 fret neck and became the first to have this feature among the Fender guitars.

In addition, some changes were made for visual appearance. Among these changes were the addition of metal control plates. Although the changes made revolved around appearance it related to the idea of the change on how the guitar was assembled as well.

No longer were the components soldered outside of the body and to installed to the rear of the pickguard, but rather wired into each section. Additionally, the wire only had the drilled holes to pass through. Another difference featured with the Jaguar had to do with the flip mute mechanism, which had to do with other manufactures who offered this at this time.

At the time they were made, it was in the first month of the year of 1962. Many think that they were made on a promotional basis. It was not until March of 1962 that they were made in larger quantities. Many of the guitars of this kind were made in custom colors, featuring matching headstocks.

In April of that year, it was the first time they were stamped with a code that identified the model, month, and year, in addition to the nut width on them. At the start of July in the same year, the veneer rosewood, replaced the slab type. Additionally, the pontentiometers started being consistently stamped with part numbers.

By January of 1965, clay dots were no longer used. These were completely replaced with pearloid dots. Another change that occurred early in the same year had to do with the material used with the pickguard, which was changed over from a nitrate material to a vinyl material. When this happened, this caused the tortoise pickguards to change from blotchy brown and yellow to a purplish red color.

Many other changes occurred along as well. However, the Fender Jaguar Guitar was originally made to become one of the top line guitars, but never made it to that level of popularity as the Stratocaster and Telecaster did. Many additional upgrades were made to the guitar until finally laying it to rest in 1975.

The Fender Jaguar Guitar originally was produced in 1962 and is today more than ever considered a must-have for any guitar lover. Rick D. Jones takes us on the ultimate Fender Jaguar journey on http://www.fenderjaguar.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_D._Jones


http://EzineArticles.com/?All-About-the-Fender-Jaguar-Guitar&id=3945908

Why Play a Rickenbacker Guitar

By Adrian Martin

These days there are a ton of electric guitars on the market - from the prestige instruments such as the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul through to their myriad of replicas. With so much similarity in instruments available it takes something a little special to get you noticed or to produce a sound that's different - that's why you should look at Rickenbacker guitars.

Rickenbacker's have a tradition that harks back to the 1930's and they have produced many famous and innovative models since. For example the Rickenbacker 325 Electric guitar, famous for it's association with John Lennon and the Rickenbacker 360 12 string guitar - associated with the 60's band "The Byrds". These guitars remain iconic to this day and their sound is instantly recognizable.

Visually they look kind of like a Stratocaster on speed - with their big flat bodies - often with a traditionally shaped "go faster" sound hole, Ricky "R" bridge and unique headstock. Strap one of these on and you'll stand out from the crowd. They really have that wow factor.

But what really makes the Rickenbacker so special?

The sound! Sonically, Rickenbacker guitars have a unique sound - partly due to their quality construction but mainly due to the unique Rickenbacker pickups. During the 1960's Rickenbacker used their now famous "toaster pickups" which looked like the top of a bread toaster - recently they've used more high-gain pickups - both have emphasised the higher frequencies and have contributed to a magical chiming sound. Another attribute is that Rickenbacker's are often equipped with a "stereo" output socket (known as "rick-o-sound") which allows the guitar to be connected to different effects chains and amps . Finally the most subtle option available on Rickenbacker guitars is the blender control When either pickup is : slected, you can use it to blend the other pick-up in. So if you think the neck pickup is too dull - then mix in some honk from the bridge pickup this is really tremendous and adds some great tones to your instrument.

All these attributes make for an extremely versatile instrument and while you don't often find Rickenbacker guitars in heavy rock - they cover everything in between. Rickenbacker's evoke lovely tones suitable for Pop or alternative rock music right through to Jazz and country and there have been tons of guitarists who use these instruments from U2's the Edge and Peter Buck of REM through to Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Given such a heritage - you'll find the sounds it produces really useful whether you're a rhythm player or virtuoso soloist.

So in summary if you want a unique look together with a unique sound the next time your down a guitar store - be sure to try out a Rickenbacker guitar.

Adrian Martin runs ShanzuGuitars.com. The site offers the latest guitar news, gear resources and reviews, tools and tips for budding guitarists everywhere.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Martin


http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Play-a-Rickenbacker-Guitar&id=229561